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How did I Get Faster on the Bike???

How to get faster on the bike

It’s simple and easy, interval training. But interval training can be challenging when on the road. The best way to get faster and stronger on the bike without the road challenges is to get to SPIN class. YES!!!! SPIN CLASS. I’ll go more into details on what spin classes can do for you and why spin classes are awesome at getting you better.

It’s like running. How do you get faster??? By doing speed work on the track. And doing hill workouts. You will never get faster by just simply increasing your pace every time you go out for a quick 5k. I tried that method and it didn’t work. I got faster by doing speed work on the track and doing hill workouts. There is a science behind it and that is why the pros do it. I never thought I would get faster and I did. In no time either.  Alright. I don’t run as fast as the pros, not even as fast as my teenage so. I could. Only if I dedicated my entire life to it. And…it’s not what I want. But to go from running a 5k in 33 minutes (which included some walking) to easily running a 5k in 24 minutes was a big accomplishment. I never had a “time” as a goal, but doing better was always the goal. Enough talk about running. I should leave it for another post. Back to biking.

SpinningI started spinning about 2 years ago. I actually didn’t have a gym membership until early 2013 and didn’t start going to spin class until a year later, January 2014. I would use the gym to lift weights and attend hot yoga classes. I started spinning after my triathlon season in 2013. In 2013, I completed a sprint and an Olympic distance a few weeks apart. Then got IT Band issues right after while training for a half marathon. Since I am no spring chicken anymore, I didn’t think it was worth it to keep pushing it with the injury. Rest was my way to heal it. So, this is when I stopped running and competing in triathlons.

Going back to triathlons, biking was by far my weakest event. I never had any formal training on a bike before competing in triathlon races. However, for my last two races – I didn’t know they would end up being my last two – I joined a training program with the Fleet Feet in Winston Salem, NC, where I lived at the time. With our group rides, I got some good pointers on how to get an efficient pedal stroke and good posture on the bike. Riding with the group helped me gained confidence on the bike and got me a bit faster. But I was still being passed by much older women than me. If they could perform at a higher level than me, then I should be able to do the same. I really didn’t care if they had been competing for as long as I had been born. They were older and I should be able to at least perform at their level. It really got me thinking. Was it lack of training? Not really because I followed a very nice training schedule that got me prepared for the races. One thing for sure, I wasn’t as strong and as fast and I needed to so something about it.

So after my injury, I had to find another way for cardio sessions since running was out of the question. I don’t really like spending an hour in the pool. I just feel like I ran a marathon after a swim session. Plus the smell of chlorine stays on you for days. eww!!! Since my gym offered spin classes, I decided to give it a try. To be real honest here. It wasn’t my thing. My gym had multiple spin instructor with many classes to chose  from. So I basically tried all teachers until I found one that motivated me the most. My favorite classes were RPM™ from LesMills. RPM™ is the indoor cycling workout where you ride to the rhythm of powerful music. Take on the terrain with your inspiring team coach who leads the pack through hills, flats, mountain peaks, time trials, and interval training. Discover your athlete within – sweat and burn to reach your endorphin high. Like all the LES MILLS™ programs, a new RPM™ class is released every three months with new music and choreography.

Then, I recently moved to Boulder, CO and none of the gyms near me offered RPM™ classes. Because of my previous spin experience with non-RPM™ classes, I was a bit afraid of starting over trying to find the right instructor AGAIN. It didn’t take too long. 12 o’clock spin classes at my gym it’s where it is happening. Mondays are mixed workouts. Tuesdays are speed days. Thursdays are climb days. And Friday is a mix of bike and cross-fit. Each workout block is from 3-6 minutes. Fun stuff. I don’t attend all classes due to scheduling conflict. Tuesdays and Thursdays are very popular and good luck getting a bike if you are not on the list. And if you are on the list, you better get there before class start. So I usually miss those days as I cannot get to class until 12:15pm. But it’s okay because I don’t want to do an hour cardio session 4-5 days per week. I also do HIIT workouts and are just as good as long cardio sessions. Spinning for me is to get better on the road 

I was going to spin class for about 2-3 weeks before my bike got delivered to our new place over the summer. There was an overflow on the first moving truck on the bikes got held back until another truck could come to Colorado. But little did I know, those three weeks of spin made me stronger and faster because the first time I hit the road with my bike, I was already averaging a faster pace than when I was in NC. And Boulder is at a higher altitude. I usually only ride on the week-ends while I spin during the week. From week to week, I can see the changes. I climb better and faster and can keep a faster pace for a longer period of time on straight away.

From Active.com – Can Spin Class Make You Faster?

You Get Fitter

On most indoor bikes, you can’t brake or coast. That kind of constant effort is hard to do outside thanks to traffic lights and terrain changes, says SoulCycle instructor and track racer Christine D’Ercole, who trained exclusively inside prior to the 2009 Masters Track National Championships, where she won the match sprint.

You Go Harder

With a stationary bike you obviously don’t need to worry about balance. Less obvious? “You can really bury yourself on a sprint because you don’t have to worry about losing control of the bike or crashing,” says Gary Gianetti, former coach of the University of Colorado cycling team.

You Have Control

On indoor bikes, you simulate climbs and flats by adding or removing resistance with the turn of a knob. This means that even flatlanders can build the kind of strength that comes from climbing. Just be sure to keep your revolutions per minute (RPMs) up. “A good instructor will keep the cadence high enough to mimic riding outside,” says D’Ercole. “You don’t want to drop below 60—otherwise, you might as well be doing the leg-press machine.”

You Can Groove

One thing you can do indoors that you can’t on the road (at least not safely): pedal to a beat-thumping soundtrack. A pile of research concludes that exercising to music distracts you from fatigue and increases endurance, so you can push beyond what you thought you were capable of, D’Ercole says. “Once you break through a physical or mental barrier indoors,” she says, “it directly translates to riding outside.”

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